Due to recent extreme weather events in the Pacific Islands, the World Bank, Japan and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community have come together to devise a two-year pilot to see whether catastrophe insurance might work such islands as Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands. Known as the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Pilot, it aims to reduce the vulnerability of Pacific Island States to natural disasters by improving their financial response to such events. According to Japan’s Ministry of Finance, the program “offers immediate emergency funding in the aftermath of a major disaster and will help stabilize Pacific Island economies so their efforts to respond to an emergency situation can be maximized.”
Category Archives: International
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Travelling Safe During Conference Season
Spring break is upon us and underage drinkers across the nation may be engaging in risky business. But just as the following tips are appropriate for spring breakers, they’re also useful for business travelers, especially since conference season is upon us. With that in mind, On Call International released the following tips for safe travel, whether it’s for a break from the books or the never-ending string of conferences that begin .
1) Go on a learning spree. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or not, it’s important to gather as much information as you can about your destination before you depart, from both a health and safety standpoint. This includes finding out if there are any particular areas or hot spots you should avoid in your destination.
2) Don’t broadcast on social media that you’re away. Period. According to research, over 1/3 of social media users post status information regarding travel plans. Though it’s tempting to post Facebook and Twitter updates letting your social networks know how much fun you’re having on your trip, try to resist the urge. Letting the world know that you’re not home makes you a prime target to potential crooks and other criminals.
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In addition to casing neighborhoods and dark parking lots, criminals now browse social media channels for vacation updates and Facebook “check-ins” to places near and far. And with social media networks’ privacy policies constantly changing, it’s not always smart to assume you’re safe even if your social profile settings are set to private.
3) Play by the rules. If you’re traveling to another country, learn what documentation is required to enter and leave the country as well as the country’s laws and criminal penalties. Laws in other countries are often quite different from those in the U.S. For example, some countries cannot honor foreign prescriptions (all the more reason to make sure you have all your prescriptions filled before you leave, regardless of where you’re going).
4) Invest in a TSA-approved lock. While you can use a normal lock for your suitcase, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has the right to cut it off if they need to inspect your belongings. However, if you have TSA-approved locks, you will still have a lock after the inspection because TSA officials use a universal master key, (and they are required to leave you a note if they have opened it). TSA-approved locks are available at airports and retail stores nationwide.
5) Make sure you can stay in touch. Contact your cell phone carrier and make sure you’ll have phone service while you’re away and ask how much it will cost to send and receive texts, phone calls and emails.
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If you’re traveling out of the country, you can usually negotiate a special rate or temporarily sign up for a plan so you can reach out (or be reached) if needed.
6) Know what to do in an emergency. We all know who to call for help when we’re traveling domestically, but do you know the phone number for emergency response is not 9-1-1 outside of the United States? The State Department has compiled this handy list of emergency contact numbers in foreign countries—save the number used at your destination in your cell phone just in case you need it. And remember—after you call 9-1-1 (or the country’s equivalent), make sure to call your travel assistance provider in the event you need to be evacuated during a political upheaval or natural disaster or if you need emergency medical care and transportation.
7) Watch what you eat (and drink). Many travelers will experience a bit of intestinal upset during their lifetime, but a lack of caution about eating in some parts of the world can be downright dangerous to your health. If local water supplies are not safe to drink, don’t take chances.
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Use bottled, boiled or sterilized water for drinking and brushing your teeth. Fruits and vegetables washed in local water can also be unsafe to eat—if you can’t peel it or it hasn’t been thoroughly cooked, do your best to politely decline. Street food can be perfectly safe, but watch to see that it’s being cooked well and choose vendors who regularly attract a large crowd.
Meteorite Injures 950+ in Russia
Just one day after we posted about an asteroid coming dangerously close (in NASA’s terms) to earth today, we awoke to news about a meteorite streaming through the sky over Russia’s Chelyabinsk region. So far, it is estimated that the shockwave has caused severe damage to property and just under 1,000 are reported injured, though that number continues to climb.
As NBC reports:
The meteor, which was reportedly 10 tons, cut a blazing ribbon across the horizon, leaving a long white trail in its wake that could be seen 125 miles (200 kilometers) away in Yekaterinburg. The Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that the space rock entered Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of at least 33,000 mph, according to the AP. Some authorities in Russia, however, have said that the event was a meteor shower, and not a single meteor.
The following amateur videos are, to say the least, shocking.
http://youtu.be/QIMKQihoYRI
And the destruction was documented in an online photo album.
USA Today published an interesting Q&A on the topic, which may help clear up some misconceptions about meteorites.
This wasn’t Russia’s first encounter with a massive meteorite. On July 30, 1908, a devastating explosion occurred in the skies over Siberia with the strength 1,000 times that of the Hiroshima blast at the end of WWII. Today’s blast in Russia is now the second largest meteorite to hit earth. The 1908 event ranks as first.
A clip from the History Channel explains:
http://youtu.be/EiXpp-i442s
This is one random, black swan even that unfortunately cannot be prepared for. As Editor in Chief Morgan O’Rourke pointed out in a 2011 piece in Risk Management, “If a large space rock chooses to head our way there really isn’t much we can do about it, regardless of Bruce Willis’ formidable skill set.” Wired backs that up, stating, “All the advanced air defenses that humanity has invested in? The interceptor missile that are (sometimes) able to stop an adversary missile from impacting? The early-warning monitoring systems that are supposed to give humanity enough time to plan a response? They are useless, useless against a meteorite onslaught.”
No need for risk management here.
FARC and the Colombian Government: Deal or No Deal in Historic Peace Talks?
In the December issue of Risk Management, we published a piece about the rising risk of terrorism in Colombia due, in part, to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country’s violent guerrilla group. Though there has been almost 50 years of tension between the anti-imperialist organization and Colombia’s government, recent peace talks created a sliver of hope for an end to violence between the two factions. FARC even pledged to cease kidnapping and declared a unilateral ceasefire until January 20, 2013.
But according to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, that’s just not enough. The president promised to support FARC as a legitimate political party if the group ended its violent ways — now.
“If Farc wants to end the conflict and switch bullets for votes, it will find the government at its disposal,” he said.
buy biaxin online www.urologicalcare.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/jpg/biaxin.html no prescription pharmacy“But if it tries to put its revolution on the table again instead of the decree placed on the table in Cuba, there will be no peace.” He added: “This cannot be a process of years but months.”
Refusing to accept the group’s cease fire pledge, President Santos made his impatience clear with a deadly raid December 3 that targeted a FARC camp, killing at least 20 rebels. FARC, apparently in retaliation, launched an attack of its own seven days later, killing one and injuring three in the southwestern region of Colombia.
But if these two groups can manage to come to a resolution, it would be a historic moment for all of Colombia.
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It would also significantly quell the country’s rampant, rebel-led kidnap-for-ransom practice.
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As Will Miller, divisional director of special contingency risks for Willis, pointed out in his latest article on WillisWire, “The FARC’s actions in these initial stages of peace negotiation are a strong indication that there could be a reduced risk of kidnaps for ransom in Colombia.”
The peace talks are indeed a good sign — for many reasons. But we must remember that the FARC are not the only aggressive, paramilitary group to call Colombia home. And that may never change.